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Chocolate is good for you (and for your community) |
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Written by Erin Everett/Special to the World
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Wednesday, 24 October 2007 |
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How can you get your hands on over 6,000 pieces of amazing chocolate while supporting an amazing cause? Come to Tahoe Women’s Services 19th Annual Chocolate Festival which is going to be chocolatier than ever before.
The festival, held on Saturday, Nov. 3 at the North Tahoe Conference Center from 7-10 p.m., once again brings together the exquisite tastes of chocolate and wine. Tickets are available for $40 in advance and $50 at the door. But be prepared and buy early — this event sells out. To order tickets with a credit card call (775) 298-0010 or visit our website at www.tahoewomenservices.org. Otherwise, visit one of our outlets throughout the community.
Why should everyone eat chocolate?
In February 2007, the University of Nottingham found that eating chocolate could not only help give a short-term boost to cognitive skills but also help sharpen one’s mind. How does it do this? Consuming dark chocolate or cocoa which is full of flavanols helps boost blood flow to the brain for at least two hours.
 According to July 4 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, small quantities of dark chocolate are great at reducing blood pressure. Eating a small amount of dark chocolate daily for 18 weeks helped to decrease blood pressure in healthy adults steadily over the entire 18 weeks. Still not convinced?
Lisa Powell, MS, RD explains that “Cocoa powder is rich in powerful anti-oxidants called ‘polyphenols’ that may be associated with decreased risk of heart disease and cancer when eaten in moderation.” In addition, she explains that although chocolate contains saturated fat it is not the type that clogs arteries.
Not only is chocolate healthy but Tahoe Women’s Services has some of Tahoe’s most talented chef’s preparing it. Tahoe Women’s Services is thrilled to announce that our local chocolatiers will be talented chefs from: Le Bistro Restaurant, Moody’s Bistro and Lounge, Mamasake, Lahontan Golf Club, Big Water Grille, Plumpjack Squaw Valley Inn, and West Shore Café. Other expected chocolatiers are Frederick’s/Ciao, The Chocolate Bar and Cocoa Bibelot. In addition Tahoe Women’s Services is excited to have Jamie Legare providing samples of Xocai The Healthy Chocolate Revolution.
Jean-Pierre Doignon will be pleasing Chocolate Festival attendees with Choux au Chocolat. Chef Doignon is the owner of Le Bistro, a contemporary French bistro, located in Incline Village. In addition to being awarded the best apprentice of France, Doignon has also received a “Best Food” award as well as “Best Marriage of Food and Wine” award. Le Bistro has been featured in gourmet Magazine and Bon Appetit. After training in Lameloise, a three star restaurant in Bourgundy, France, Doignon worked at Fouguets in Paris. He has travelled and worked in Canada, The Bahamas, Mexico City and here in the United States. Chef Doignon says that he is always looking for new ideas to offer a creative menu and exciting innovative dishes with flavors from all over the world.
Returning to support Tahoe Women’s Services for his third year Chef Mark Estee is the co-owner of Moody’s Bistro and Lounge located in historic downtown Truckee. Chef Estee attended the prestigious Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. He believes that “food should be fresh, seasonal, local, and simple” thereby producing original menu selections that are influenced by various cultures and styles. In order to produce the freshest food possible Chef Mark Estee gets his ingredients from local farmers and providers. Due to this credo Estee has earned recognition from culinary organizations such as the James Beard Foundation and Ahwahnee Chef’s Holiday. With desserts like warm chocolate cake, chocolate milkshakes and Moody’s S’Mores Chef Estee guarantees to produce a crowd pleasing chocolate dessert.
 New to the chocolate festival this year is Mamasake, a local Japanese restaurant located in Squaw Valley. The word “mamasake” means an exclamation used for extreme feelings of joy or in times of challenge in Japanese. Chef Elsa Corrigan graduated from California Culinary Academy and has been a chef for more than 18 years. Corrigan has been experimenting with a new chocolate cookie sandwich with green tea filling, an experiment that we might all have the pleasure of tasting. Everyone can rest assured that no matter what Corrigan decides to bring to the Chocolate Festival attendees will all be shouting out in joy!
Executive Chef Jared Nash will be representing Lahontan Golf Club which is a fine dining restaurant that serves classic French cuisine with a Californian twist. Nash has been a chef for ten years after graduating from Western Culinary Institute in 2000. Chef Nash is sure to please the crowd this year with his milk chocolate mousse seeing that he has won Best Dessert award for the past two years at the Autumn Food and Wine Festival. Not only did he win 1st place in 2006 for People’s Choice and Judge’s Choice, but this year he kept 1st place in those two categories and won 1st place in Best Dessert and Wine Pairing!
Returning for a second time Chef Jay Veregge, Executive Chef at Big Water Grille, is sure to amaze crowds with a fantastic chocolate dessert. Trained in France by Pierre Gagnier, Chef Veregge has been working in restaurants since the mid 1980’s. Before Big Water Grille Veregge was the Executive Chef at Wolf House Restaurant in Sonoma. Veregge says “our dishes are a surprise and each has a cutting edge, unique, enticing twist … but approachable.”
PlumpJack Café located in Squaw Valley is an off-shoot of the San Francisco restaurant with the same name. Executive Chef Jeffery Powell moved to the Tahoe region because it was reminiscent of his home growing up in Idaho. Powell is returning to the Chocolate Festival bringing a refreshing culinary style that comes from experiences working in various restaurants in California and China.
Executive Chef Bret Pafford will be coming to Tahoe Women’s Services’ Chocolate Festival for the first time from West Shore Café located in Homewood. Chef Pafford’s passion is in procuring the world’s finest ingredients, no matter how difficult they are to access. He is committed to using only seasonal organic vegetables and premium meat and fish thereby producing beautiful menus that are original and full of character. Attendees can be sure to enjoy a tantalizing chocolate treat produced with passion.
In addition to all of our incredible local chefs Jaime Legare will be featuring Xocai The Healthy Chocolate Revolution. Xocai products are caffeine free, diabetic friendy, kosher certified, glueten-free and trans-fat free product that is extremely high in antioxidants. Jaime plans to bring healthy tastes of this wonderful chocolate for everyone to enjoy.
What can make this night filled with chocolate and wine even more enticing? Knowing that all of the proceeds of this fantastic festival benefit Tahoe Women’s Services, the only agency in the North Lake Tahoe/Truckee communities which provides services to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault and to children who have been abused or neglected.
Services include a 24-hour Community Help Line, safe shelter, individual and group counseling, court and hospital accompaniment, assistance with temporary restraining and protective order, and emergency food and transportation. Tahoe Women’s Services also provides educational presentations to children, teens, and adults about domestic violence and sexual assault prevention.
For more information on Tahoe Women’s Services please visit our website at www.tahoewomenservices.org or call us at (775) 298-0010.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 24 October 2007 )
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